


Together

by shipintheisland



Category: Formula 2 RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sochi 2020 race 1, aka me coping with callum getting away from the championship lead, and who is better placed than Marcus to give him one, callum deserves a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26668270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipintheisland/pseuds/shipintheisland
Summary: Coming back from the feature race, Marcus expected to celebrate his points and Callum’s podium, but his boyfriend was not really in the mood for any kind of celebrations...
Relationships: Marcus Armstrong/Callum Ilott
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> My only excuse is that I love them  
> Enjoy 😄

When Marcus pushed the door of his hotel room, he was not surprised to see the light switched on. He smiled widely as it could only mean one thing : his boyfriend was already back from the paddock and Marcus would be able to celebrate his return in the points in Callum’s arms - the best kinds of celebrations he would say.

"Caaaal !" He called while toeing off his shoes and walking in the bedroom. "I’m back, and I brought a little surpriiiise !"

Marcus carefully put down his bag pack on the bed and opened it, grinning as he took out the small bottle of champagne hidden inside. If anything was better than an evening with his man, it was definitely an evening with his man and a glass of their favorite fizzy drink.

"Mick gave me a baby champagne bottle for my points." He explained as he popped open the bottle, quickly looking around for the plastic glasses he knew they kept in the room’s cupboard. "I know you already had some on the podium but one more drink won’t hurt yo-"

Marcus stopped himself mid-sentence, putting down bottle and glasses on the cupboard and frowning. The room was completely silent without him talking, and for a second he thought that Callum was absent and that he was talking to the walls. And a quick turn around confirmed that besides himself, the room was completely empty.

"Cal ?" The young Kiwi called worriedly. He spotted his boyfriend’s jacket on a chair nearby so Callum must be around for sure, and when he felt a cold wind brushing his neck, he noticed the glass door to the balcony was open.

His primary good mood deflated when he finally saw Callum sitting outside on the balcony’s bench, elbows on his knees, head in his hands, watching the horizon with a bland expression. A cold shiver run down his spine at the sight of the Brit alone in the cold, only wearing his team shirt, goose bumps showing on his bare arms. Without a second thought, Marcus stepped outside, walking to the bench and carefully sitting next to his boyfriend, slowly as to not spook him. The only indication that Callum acknowledged his presence was the quick eye movement toward Marcus, but he didn’t say anything, didn’t move from his spot. The younger boy shifted uncomfortably, sighing sadly when Callum didn’t react as he pressed himself against his side.

"Are you okay ?" Marcus murmured, not really knowing what to do. Callum was always in a cheery mood, even when things didn’t go as planned or when something bad happened, he was always the one keeping a smile on his face, joking around and giving hopeful speeches to anyone needing it, and opening his arms wide when Marcus was feeling down.

Callum shrugged, still not moving, so Marcus shifted closer and settled his head on the Brit’s shoulder. They stayed like that for an unknown time, Marcus patiently waiting for his boyfriend to feel ready to talk or cold enough to go back inside. At one point, feeling the cold skin of Callum’s neck on his head, he straightened up and took out his jacket to put it around the Brit’s shoulders, still gaining no reaction.

Finally, Callum sighed heavily, settling back on the backrest and circling his arm around Marcus to bring him closer, rubbing his exposed arm to keep him warm.

"I think I’m losing the championship." Callum muttered in the smaller boy’s hair, voice so low Marcus wasn’t even sure he heard it right.

"What do you mean ? There is still tomorrow and next-"

"I’m going to lose anyway."

Marcus bit down on his lower lip, the obvious defeat in Callum’s voice making him nervous. Callum was always hopeful, he wouldn’t give up that easily.

Right ?

"Mick is fast, consistent. I keep making stupid mistakes and I can’t keep up and-"

"Oh oh oh oh !" Marcus interrupted him, moving from his comfortable spot to be able to face Callum. "Where is that coming from ? Just this morning you were hyped for the race, and it went well, you got a podium and didn’t let the gap grow too much, you still have time to-"

Callum groaned, letting go of Marcus and walking back inside. "You don’t understand."

Marcus froze on spot for a second. Well that was new...

He rushed after the taller boy. "I won’t if you don’t tell me anything."

Callum paced around the room, a hand rubbing his face tiredly. "I just- It’s just all getting out of hand, I was doing alright but now everyone is coming back for the fight and I... I can’t keep up, Marcus, I’m not strong enough for that !"

Arms wide and looking defeated, Callum sat down on the edge of the bed, avoiding Marcus’s eyes as much as he can. The Kiwi crossed his arms, nervously grabbing his sleeves. He was not used at being the one comforting Callum, the other way round being the most recurrent occasion - mostly those past weeks, getting further again and again from the points was not a nice feeling. And with all their years living together, it was the first time he saw the older boy that hopeless.

Silently, not wanting to stop Callum in a rare sharing-his-bad-feelings moment, he moved to stand right next to him, nudging his boyfriend’s ankle with his foot. He smiled when Callum sighed and put an arm around his waist to get the smaller boy closer, resting his head against his belly.

"Everything I’ve done, all my life I’ve worked so hard to get close enough to a seat in a Formula 1 team, and-" He took a shaky breath, to which Marcus immediately detangled his arms to hug him close. "I am here now, so, so close to that, so close I can almost touch it, but I have to- I need to do better because... I haven’t had a talk with any team yet, they’re not interested, I’m not good enough..."

As Callum took a deep breath, clearly shaken by this talk, Marcus felt something wet on his shirt and he only needed one second to realize that his boyfriend was silently crying. His eyes opened widely in distress, how long had Callum kept those thoughts inside his head ?

"I feel like I can’t do it" Callum whispered, tears rolling on his cheeks as Marcus hugged him closer, letting him empty his mind, "like it’s always the same, I get close and then it slips out of my hands and even if I work my ass off, it will end up with nothing."

Running a hand in the tall boy’s hair, Marcus pressed a kiss on his forehead, then opened his mouth to say something but Callum added a last sentence to his speech.

"I was never able to win anything. And I never will."

Both boys stayed there, hugging tightly and Callum letting his frustration out. After a few seconds, Marcus pushed him on the shoulders, a hand under the Brit’s chin to make him look in his eyes.

"Listen, I get why you’re feeling so stressed right now." He started, voice as soft as he could and trying to send as much love as possible in the look he gave to his boyfriend. "But this is not over, you still have tomorrow, and the next race weekend, and the next one after that."

"I know but I-"

"No but, no place for buts here."

A hand gently squeezed Marcus’s butt and he lifted an unimpressed eyebrow at Callum who chuckled lightly.

"Just a place for yours uh ?"

"Exactly, only authorized buts here are yours and mine. The rest can go by the window because you are worth so much more than that. You’re strong and doing such a great job, I’m sure it’s just a question of time before the teams all fight for your talent and stupid accent-"

"Hey !"

"And then you’ll come back home bragging about it loudly and I’ll be able to scream in Juri’s ears that I’m dating an f1 driver."

"It’s all about making you look cool in front of the others uh."

Marcus gave Callum his most angelic smile, making the Brit’s face soften and he knew his man was going to be okay.

"It can’t happen if you don’t try until the end." He added in a softer voice, brushing the last tears away from Callum’s face with his thumbs. "And whatever happens, I’ll be cheering for you, okay ?"

For a second, Callum looked like he hesitated but he sighed and nodded before letting a small smirk grow on his lips.

"You’ll cheer from the 9th place ?"

"Oh you fucker !" Marcus exclaimed and pushed his boyfriend in fake anger, sitting on his lap when Callum grabbed his wrist and pulled him close. They hugged lovingly, the Brit’s hands running on his back soothingly.

"If I can fight again for the points, you can fight again for the title." Marcus mumbled in Callum’s neck, making him chuckle.

"I’m proud of you, darling." The Brit murmured and kissed his cheek as Marcus smiled widely at the compliment.

"Thank you for having my back."

"You do the same for me all the time, and I love you, so of course I have your back, I will always have your back."

Callum’s hold around him tightened and Marcus pressed his face closer to his neck, humming happily at the familiar scent and kissing the skin under his lips.

"Can we drink your champagne now ?" Callum asked and Marcus chuckled, nodding quickly before getting up to grab the bottle and plastic glasses left on the cupboard.

Whatever happened in the next weeks, they would face it together, as they did until then.

**Author's Note:**

> Mallum forever 😎  
> Don’t hesitate to leave a comment, I love those, and come cry about cute drivers with me on tumblr @suckmyballshoney 💙


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